What Poker Teaches Us about Luck

No doubt, there are dozens of different ways I could talk about the intersection between poker and luck. But one of the things that’s always resonated for me, and continues to resonate, is how often bad luck first appears to be good luck, and vice versa:

“When the gods wish to punish us, they answer our prayers.”

“The worst hand in poker is always the second-best hand.”

“You’re never as high or as low as you think.”

You hit the flush on the river only to have your opponent hit a full house at the same time. You can say that you should be able to make a great laydown, but come on. Sometimes, it is pure luck, and it’s a roller coaster ride. You get all your money in with a pair of Ks, only to go up against As. You spike yours on the flop, they spike theirs on the turn, and it all ends up as a split pot with Broadway coming on the river.

So, it is in life. Part of you has to be ready to accept the good fortune and endure the bad fortune, but another part of you has to be ready to question whether the good luck is really good and whether the bad luck is really bad. Sliding Doors is an underrated movie, by the way.